I’m not creative enough to be on Tik Tok.
I’m not cool enough to be on Snapchat.
I don’t take enough selfies to be on Instagram (much).
I’m not political enough to be on Parler.
I’m not crafty enough to be on Pinterest.
I never find what I’m looking for on YouTube.
I’m not thick-skinned enough to spend (too much) time on Facebook.
I’ve heard too many scary stories about Tumblr.
I’m not looking for a job, no need for Linkedin.
As for Twitter– I’m mostly there to get my breaking sports news.
Is My Space still a thing? Never mind, I was never musical enough for My Space.

Social media may or may not be your thing (IRONY ALERT: You may be reading this via Facebook or Twitter). If you’ve spent time on any of the listed sites you’ve probably been offended, harassed, disappointed, frustrated or even tempted to lose your salvation once or twice. I’ve known “Christian” people who have started affairs on social media, ended friendships over on-line posts, and have willingly participated in gossip, rumor mongering and angry rants. The Ten Commandments have been broken millions of times thanks to social media.

Still there are some redeeming qualities in the social media world. I like wishing people happy birthday and seeing prayer requests from friends. I like looking at pretty decorations, funny videos, photo accomplishments and seeing how children are growing or succeeding in life. It’s not all bad.

This week, I asked a few “Facebook people” from the church to “share” the worship service onto their timeline. My current sermon series is taken from The Message version of John 1:14. It’s called “…and Moved into the Neighborhood.” Like nosy
neighbors, the sermon series is trying to decipher who exactly is the flesh and blood Word who’s moving into the neighborhood. Last Sunday’s message was “the Savior moved into the neighborhood.” The sermon was going to end with a call to salvation, so I asked people to share it. A few did.

This week, I received a text from a person who shared the service. They wrote about a relative from across the country, who hasn’t been in church in years, who watched and then started asking spiritual questions. Sharing the service got the come-to-Jesus ball rolling. Others have told similar stories when they have “shared” services on line.

Awesome, right? So what if we all shared the services more? It’s an easy thing to do.

During this time of quarantine and social distancing, what if God used social media to draw people to himself. As our stuck-at-home friends and family are glued to their phones and computers these days, what if God took this time of isolation to touch people who might otherwise not be reached. I’m not suggesting anyone become some kind of on-line Bible bully and use social media to beat people over the head with their big King James. Simply post: “I love my church! You might too! Check out this week’s service” then “share” the worship experience onto your timeline. Who knows? Like the guy who texted me this week following his relative’s first steps toward Jesus, maybe you’ll be saying, “I’ll be sharing the service “religiously” from now on.”